Thai And Bangkok Lifestyle by Kasinee Silapee

After having been given so much useful information by Kade already on Thai food, travel in and around Thailand, tips for longer stays and living in Thailand, it was now time for a more light – hearted chat.

In the first part of the interview Kade gave ”The Corn Loft” in Chitlom as one of her favourite places to eat in Bangkok. So on my recent trip to Bangkok in January 2012 it became our meeting point to discuss more about Thai and Bangkok lifestyle alongside some general likes of Kade herself. A great venue over a very tasty ” Tom Yum Gung” dish accompanied by some delicious Vietnamese spring rolls and the tone was set for more great information from local Bangkok lady Khun Kade.

Trevor: I am sure you all know Khun Kade by now, but for those who have not read her other 3 parts of the interview firstly here is a reminder about our guest and secondly don’t forget to read the rest of her great information. I have provided links to the rest of the interview at the bottom of this post.

Kasinee Silapee (Nickname Kade)

About Kade

Kade: Usually, my foreign friends will call me “Ke-si” as it is easy for them but for my Thai friends, they usually call me “Kade”.

My name is Kasinee Silapee, Thai single female. I was born in Bangkok 47 years ago. You can tell that I am a real Bangkokian, and I have seen a lot of changes and developments in Bangkok. I graduated my 2nd Master Degree in Communication Arts from Chulalongkorn University since 1997. I love traveling, music, arts and movies as well as books.

My hobbies, besides watching movies and playing sports are taking photographs. I love to do handicraft works as well and my favorite ones are knitting and costume jewelry designs.

Currently I am working as Creative Group Head for Net Genius Co., ltd., this company does website development, marketing on-line, SEO strategy and also event organizing.

I can speak Thai and all native Thai, English, fair French and Japanese, Khmer and Bahasa Maly.

I love singing and playing guitar. If I could turn back the clock, I would learn how to be a good chef, as I absolutely love cooking food for people as well as love to invent new recipes.

Kade’s Thai Music Choices

Kade On Music

Trevor: The thing that comes across from Kade most is her zest and passion for life, she has so many things that she enjoys to do that it would have been quite possible to stay and talk all day. However one of her big passions is music and so I asked her about her favourite Thai singers and Thai songs, it was no surprise when Kade gave me favourites from different types of music.

Trevor: Could you give us a couple of your favourite Thai songs?

Kade: It is hard for me to give you just a couple as my tastes and preferences come from different types of music. I am a fan of Country, Pop and Classical tunes so I will give you my favourite in these categories.

One of my very favourites is ” Tongchai Mcintyre ” almost all of his albums are brilliant such as

Ask Kade about where to go of an evening in Bangkok and this is also simple for her as she knows every inch of Bangkok having spent her life here. It may have been simple for her, but yet again the choices were built around varied musical tastes that emerged from Jazz, Blues, Dance and she really comes alive at the mere mention of Salsa music.

Trevor: When you get time out of your busy schedule where are a couple of your favourite night-time venues?

Kade: For nightlife when I have time and when I am not working too late I enjoy to socialise with friends at many places, but my favourite’s are ….

Trevor: Having worked with many different nationalities throughout her career and for many different nationality bosses I asked Kade about perhaps offering foreigners a bit of advice in regards of working with Thais and overcoming cross cultural challenges.

Trevor: What would you say were the three most important tips for foreigners with regards to forming good working relationships with Thai people.

Unmistakably Thailand, Floating Markets

Kade On Cross Cultural Relationships

Kade: So often I have seen many foreigners approach situations here exactly in the same way they would in their own countries and quite often hit a brick wall. I would certainly advise that in the beginning you do as much homework as you can with regards to learning as much as possible about Thai people and Thai culture and then gently get to know one another.

Sometimes especially as bosses the foreigner can be too demanding and set expectation levels massively high. Goals and objectives are of course great to aim for, but a bonding and a unity put together from getting to know each other is certainly the way to build a trustworthy relationship.

Trevor: I found once again here a keyword that Kade reiterated was ” patience ” and you will find its a word the Thai’s often use and show and perhaps one word in the west that seems to be disappearing from the vocabulary.

Kade On Proverbs

Trevor: As you know I am a fan of proverbs and quotations, could you give us a couple of your favourite quotes , sayings or proverbs that have meant something to you over the years?

Kade: This is hard as there are so many, but off the top of my head the two that spring to mind are…

1) Do a good deed and receive good, do a bad deed and receive bad

ทำดีได้ดี ทำชั่วได้ชั่ว (tam dii dai tam chua dai chua)

2) Time and tide wait for no man

วันเวลาไม่เคยคอยใคร (wan wela may khey khooy khrai)

Trevor: For those foreign students of the Thai language who wish to enhance their learning of Thai language and Thai culture what would be a couple of favourite books that you would recommend they get a copy of.

Kade: 1) I would certainly recommend Si Phaendin

2) I would like to recommend Luuk Isaan

Kade With An Eye To The Future

Kade On Her Goals

Trevor: Do you have a dream or an end goal that you are aiming for, what would make you happy if you achieved it.

Kade: My goals will be complete when my mission is completed and my work is done. I want to go on and continue learning in life and continue to give back in life. I want to continue to do good in life, not for the sake of receiving anything back for myself, but for the sake of making some one less fortunate than me smile in life.

I am also currently working on a hat knitting project for the hilltribe children of Northern Thailand and the goal is to knit as many as I possibly can. It is colder in the North of Thailand and especially in the cold season and the Hilltribe people ( or people of the mountain) are very poor. Being poor of course prevents the families from buying products to prevent the coldness so I am happy to use my ability to help.

The other day I saw a homeless man who looked so lonely and hungry so I gave him a bit of money to get some breakfast with or something . As went by him again I noticed he still had nothing and I noticed how lonely he was looking, so I went and got him a box of Kentucky fried Chicken and told him to enjoy the new year and to keep trying. The smile on his face was reward enough as the feeling I felt was good. There is always a reward, but the reward is far greater than a material reward it is the pure satisfaction of doing good for others.

Hilltribe Lady From The North Of Thailand

One Final Piece Of Advice

Trevor: Finally, if you had to give one piece of advice to any newly arriving foreigner planning on a life in Thailand. What would it be?

Kade: Purely to give yourself time to get to know and learn about Thailand and Thai people and the emphasis should very much be on giving yourself time.

Trevor: With all personal goals set, a busy working life, a thousand hobbies, more languages to add to her already impressive list, good deeds to carry out and lunch at the corn loft finished I said farewell and thank you to the very talented, intelligent and charming Khun Kasinee Silapee.

As I travelled back to Ramkhamhaeng I was already thinking I wished I asked her this and I wished I asked her that, but I fear I was in danger of becoming one of those over demanding foreigners that Khun Kade was talking about. To be quite honest she has no need for anyone to be demanding of her as she demands and delivers a lot of herself. I thank her once more for taking time out of her very busy schedule.

Make sure you catch-all of the fantastic interview with Khun Kasinee Silapee

Quotes From East and West: quotesfromeastandwest

I gave myself the exercise to figure out my 3 favourite movies of all time? Not only name the three favourite’s, but put them in order of preference and add a favourite television series to boot. Looking back over the movies was fun, but I was more interested in figuring out the why.

So one of the ways to change somebody’s state in an instant is to give them a smile. They will find it very difficult not to smile back. On the flip side, if you are wondering around with a face like a bull-dog chewing on a wasp and somebody smiles at you. I dare you not to smile back .

The author takes you in to the world of love and romance within Thai culture, covering over 900 words and phrases. You certainly would not give it the description of a ‘’ how to’’ book or even a guide-book. It’s more of a wonderful insight that you would be extremely hard pressed to know about without the aid of this book – a look from the inside as it were.